Henry V is part of a sequence - so there are people in it who were also in Henry IV (parts 1 &2). I saw the Olivier film during high school, and didn't understand a lot of it because I didn't know the background.

Thus when we hear about an old man called Sir John Falstaff dying during Henry V, it's useful to know that he was once a friend and mentor to Henry in his youth (a heavy drinking rogue as well), but young Henry gives him up near the end of Henry IV part 2 when he takes on his responsibilities.

Some of the criminal types in Henry V were Falstaff and Henry's drinking mates from even earlier, and one of them is executed in the play, under Henry's orders.

"Blessed are you, Lord our God, king of the universe, who diversified his creatures" (a Jewish prayer to be said whenever one sees an unusual looking person or animal),

Thanks for the info everyone! I've been getting a little more into Shakespeare over the past year and I wanted to check this out. (Also because I just love medieval stuff ). Maybe I'll do my own review when I get around to watching it...

PM me to join the Search for the Seven Swords!Co-founder of the newly restored Edmund Club! Find it on the Talk About Narnia Forum!signature by aileth

Just got back from seeing They Shall Not Grow Old. Basically, Peter Jackson took actual footage from World War I, cleaned it up and preserved it, then colorized it, and between professional lip readers, historical documents, and recorded remembrances of World War I soldiers, put together the average soldier's storyline of the War. It was pretty amazing.

I couldn't go the original days it showed, but due to demand they did an extra viewing day, and I'm so happy I did. It was quite amazing to see the updated footage, and it really is mesmerizing. I'm quite looking forward to when it comes out in other formats, as I think this would be quite important for my students to see. Jackson also talked about how much other footage there was, and that there was enough to do several other storylines, including production on the home front, and I would very much like to see them make those, too.

I just now finally got around to seeing the Solo movie, now that its on netflix. I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised by how well done it was, I thoroughly enjoyed the actors preformance, especially by the fella who played Han. I expected to hate his portrayal. He did an excellent job capturing the essance of Han, despite his lack of physical similarities. Speaking of, is Woody Harrelson becoming typecast as Space-Dad? Because he basically just toned down his character from GOTG for his part on Solo. Greet casting choice and another great preformance from him. There were some moments I didn't like, but overall a solid flic. Especially because it was on netflix.

I got around to watching the movie, Pieces of April. (For mature audiences but it's not R-rated or anything.) It's about a young woman whose dysfunctional family is coming to visit her on Thanksgiving. She and her mother have always had a rocky relationship and this is probably their only chance to make up before Mom dies. On Thanksgiving day, her oven stops working so she has to ask her neighbors for the use of theirs. I really enjoyed the movie though there were some aspects I disliked.

Some of the comedy seemed a little bit forced and awkward. Like there's a bit where April's family takes time off their road trip to have a funeral for a dead animal they ran over. I guess it's supposed to show that they're sensitive about death what with mom's illness but it just felt really out of character for them. And there's also a bit where one of April's neighbors is going to let her use her over but then reneges because she's a vegan. Why wouldn't she just immediately refuse? Are we really supposed to believe she didn't know that Americans eat turkey on Thanksgiving?

The characters in the movie were good. I really liked the couple who were the first ones to help April. Part of me wishes they could have had bigger roles though if they had the story wouldn't have been as exciting. And the character of April's mother was really good. Her actress, whose name I can't remember, did such a great job with her facial expressions and her tone of voice. (Spoiler) I was a little disappointed by the ending though. I would have liked to have seen April's reconciliation with her family portrayed in greater detail. Having it be shown without dialogue felt somewhat lazy. Writing arguments is easy (for me anyway.) Writing forgiveness is a lot harder. Still I'd be saying if my heart wasn't warmed anyway.

For better or worse-for who knows what may unfold from a chrysalis?-hope was left behind.-The God Beneath the Sea by Leon Garfield & Edward Blishen

The best movie I've seen this year so far was Mary Poppins Returns -because it was full of allusions to the original film, and really showed respect for the books - which I grew up on. Plenty of tearful moments.

The next best, and in a completely different genre, is Green Book, the true story of a talented and highly educated musician who employs a driver to accompany him on his tour around southern USA in 1962. The musician is black, and the driver is white. It is full of drama and the growth of a friendship between two very different men. It's not everyone's type of movie, but I was very impressed.

"Blessed are you, Lord our God, king of the universe, who diversified his creatures" (a Jewish prayer to be said whenever one sees an unusual looking person or animal),

They Shall Not Grow Old is a wonderful documentary. It was released on ordinary TV here so I saw it last year. I really liked that it didn't shy away from the more horrible aspects yet, at the same time, was not gratuitous. I learnt far more about the personal impact of the war from it than I did from anything else in school (except, perhaps, for the opening of Saving Private Ryan which I was shown at the age of 12) - I hope it becomes a staple of teaching. It is amazing how the restoration brought it to life. Though I know people are wary of this happening to old films (such as colourising To Kill a Mockingbird) when it's done respectfully and well, for a good reason, it can be like this.

I haven't seen Mary Poppins Returns yet though I would like to at some point. I've never read any of the books! What appeals most about the film (I'm not a huge fan of the original) is the 2D animation ...

Before Christmas I saw Ralph Breaks the Internet and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. I was really looking forward to Ralph but it was disappointing. The first film I felt had an emotional journey, but this film seemed to double back on some of the ideas and 'rules' set up in the first. For example, the driving force of the first film is that Ralph goes 'Turbo'. The sequel never mentions this aspect again, despite the fact that Vanellope goes Turbo by 1) wrecking her game and 2) abandoning said game and joining another. AND THIS IS NEVER DISCUSSED/CHALLENGED. Instead, it becomes about Ralph not wanting to lose his friend, instead of challenging Vanellope's responsibilities. If the film had been about Vanellope wanting to move on, discussing that with her game, and then moving on - okay, sure. But she did the exact same thing that Ralph did and was rewarded and applauded for it. The second thing that really bugged me is that there was never any explanation for Vanellope being able to leave her game (another major plot point from the first movie). I had assumed that when the game rebooted that would have been removed, but as she kept her glitch nature it was uncertain what other things remained. All that was needed was a brief explanation ... instead it annoyed me the whole time.

However, Spider-Verse was excellent. When the first trailers came out my thoughts were very much 'Another one? Really?!' but there were so many good reports about it I thought I'd better check it out. It is a fantastic movie in so many respects. The script is great, the art direction is amazing, the animation is wonderful. Everything comes together. It's the best film I've seen in ages.

OK, I finally watched Henry V, starring Kenneth Brannagh. AND IT WAS AWESOME!!The acting was an extremely emotional interpretation of Shakespeare's script, turning what others might make a dull recitation into a believable story with real people. The scene between Henry and Katharine didn't even sound like Shakespeare! The battle was well done, with plenty of attention to historical detail and plenty of emphasis on how wet and miserable it was to fight in the rain and mud. A mild level of gore, but not so realistic as to be too disturbing. And the speech. The St. Crispin's Day speech was one of the best-delivered speeches I have ever seen. Totally real, totally heartfelt. Brannagh is a great actor. I give this movie a 10. I just wish it had been longer.(It was 137 minutes!)

PM me to join the Search for the Seven Swords!Co-founder of the newly restored Edmund Club! Find it on the Talk About Narnia Forum!signature by aileth

This is what happens when we don't have TV anymore, no longer hear about new movies. Have no clue about the Ralph movie, not surprised another Spider Man movie came out, it seems there's been a flood of superhero flicks lately, Glass I think is the latest one I know of. I've read Shakespeare and saw one of his plays once, but it never really clicked with me. I have seen military history stuff...the battle you're talking about is the one between the French/English on a French farm field? Trying to remember the name of the place and other specifics, but it's getting close to bedtime and my brain has shut down already...

The battle is Agincourt, fought on the fields outside of a castle called Agincourt in 1415. Outnumbered English archers destroyed an army of French knights, helping to aid in the death of chivalry in general.

PM me to join the Search for the Seven Swords!Co-founder of the newly restored Edmund Club! Find it on the Talk About Narnia Forum!signature by aileth

Finally took the time to see Mary Poppins Returns. Very fun movie, a worthy sequel to the first film, and it had several recognizable moments from other books in the series. I was a little curious to see how my mother would react since Julie Andrews is one of her favorite actresses, but she had a lot of fun too.

Also watched Ralph Breaks the Internet. It didn't really bother me that Vanellope left her game, because she had already spent a long time missing from the actual gameplay in the first film. Ralph giving her a new track to try and then Vanellope actually trying it while someone was playing the game did bother me though. That's established as a big problem in the first movie.

The Mrs., and I went to "The Up Side". I must say I was pleasantly suprised. It was definitely a more adult film, with at least two scenes a bit much for little ones, but lacking the vulgar humor. A buddy film, it shows quite well the tensions that can, and do happen between two individuals, but also the bond which can occur when people are willing to spend the effort to get to know each other, and look past the surface.

This past weekend, I watched Hunter Killer with my dad and little sis. It was intense and entertaining. There were definitely a few "look how cool the Navy is" shots, but that's was no surprise. Of course smart people know that the Army leads the way and is so much more awesome. That said I might be planning to add it to my film collection once the price drops on the Blu-ray, should look good on my shelf right in between The Hunter For Red October and Olympus Has Fallen/London Had Fallen.

SnowAngel

Never spend your time in such a way that you would notlike to have God say, "What are you doing? - J.C. Ryle

This is not a docu-drama. This is not a documentary. Most of the footage, with some exception of some graphics, are 100% released and UNRELEASED footage that has been restored. Some of which has been restored so well that it looks like it was shot TODAY. There are NO voice overs. It is all done through mission audio, news audio, and public affairs recordings. The editing isn't choppy and it's smooth enough that it flows really well. Definitely worth seeing as the 50th anniversary of the landing is this July.

Ooh, I heard about that documentary but I don't know if it's releasing in the UK. I'd love to see it. Hopefully it'll be released here on Blu-ray at least.

Crazy Rich Asians is fun but it was so hyped I was a bit disappointed. I liked it, though, and I'll watch it again!

Last month I saw How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World. It's a good conclusion to the trilogy, but like the second film it's nowhere near the brilliance of the first. As ever the animation and visuals were stunning. The characters even had tiny hairs on their skin! Though I thought the story of the film was only okay, the ending was perfect.

I went to see Captain Marvel on Monday. I really wanted this to be amazing, but out of all the Marvel movies it's one of my least favourite. The 90s setting is something I was looking forward to seeing on screen, but because of all the alien technology, characters and locations it didn't feel very much like what I remember. Inevitably I have ended up comparing it to Wonder Woman. I think Captain Marvel's story is better, but I 'got' Diana as a character much more than Carol. Because of the structure of this film - Carol has memory loss at the beginning - it's hard to get to know her because she doesn't know who she is. It's such a pity, especially when Tony Stark, Steve Rogers, etc. all had such strong beginnings.